Moses

A: Moses, When Harriet Tubman Led Her People to Freedom
B: Weatherford, Carole Boston
C: Nelson, Kadir
D: Hyperion Books for Children, 2006
E: Picture Book (Multicultural)
F: K-3
G: This book starts with Harriet praying for freedom, she is a slave in the south. She then hears God whisper to he with nature, and she makes up her mind to run away. Harriet faces many hardships on her journey to the North. She must sleep in the woods, run from dogs, hide in barns, and she must be careful of who she trusts. She finally reacher the north and decided to go back and help other slaves run away.
H: I will admit that I was a bit anxious to read this book. I know that teaching about slavery in elementary school is a very touchy subject. This book, however, pulls off teaching about this subject with the up most care. The story is very well thought out and follows many factual events. I think that this will allow students to get an idea of what people really felt about slavery, from the slave's eyes. The illustrations in this book also add to its creativity. The use of colors and two page spreads really set this book apart. The pictures and not like other picture books where the pictures are drown to look cute and happy. Kadir Nelson did a good job creating illustrations that look very realistic and add to the factual information presented in this story. I think that this book is the best piece of work I have ever seen to present the touchy subject of slavery to children.
I: The most obvious teaching implication is the teaching of the touchy issue of slavery in history. I would read this book with my young students and then have a class discussion about how they think it would have been to live and slavery and if they would have wanted to run away also. This book could also be used teach diversity to young students.